In The News

NASA Student Science Symposium

 

 

Toluca Lake Elementary School became a part of the NASA Explorer School (NES) program this year.  As a NES school, Toluca Lake Elementary is able to make use of a plethora of fine lessons provided by scientists, engineers, and educators from NASA and JPL. One of these lessons involved designing a prototype “lunar plant chamber” enabling astronauts to grow food on the surface of the moon.

 

Students worked in groups of two to create their design and build their prototypes.  Each model had to provide ways for the astronauts to generate electricity, recycle water, and have a housing unit connected to the plant chamber. The top two student groups sent power point presentations of their work to NASA. One of these teams has been selected as the only elementary school in California to go to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas to present their project at the Student Science Symposium.  Fifth grade students, Caitline Molina and Ali Freas will be accompanying their teacher, Dennis Hagen-Smith, to Houston in early May. “I am very proud of the hard work the students did on this challenging project,” commented Hagen-Smith. 

 

 

 

 

The Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control Department offers free education programs to schools. Their goal is to provide education to help prevent the spread of dangerous diseases such as West Nile Virus & encephalitis, carried by dangerous vectors.  To accomplish this task, the Vector Control Dept. sends an educational trailer, the Vecmobile to schools to provide hands-on education. Fifth grade students learn about the life cycle of a mosquito, its anatomy, how diseases are spread, and strategies to control the spread of vectors. Students conduct an experiment on the Vecmobile and each receive an activity book and certificate from the program.   A few months ago, the Vecmobile made its annual visit to the Toluca Lake Elementary School. At the conclusion of their visit, they offered students the opportunity to participate in an art contest creating posters to educate the public about vector control. One of Toluca Lake’s fifth grade students, Jennifer Castro, won the grand prize for her drawing! Her poster will be posted upon over 40 different buses in the city. In addition, she will receive a $100 savings bond towards her education, and her class will receive a pizza party on June 4! Jennifer’s teacher, Mr. Dennis Hagen-Smith, commented, “I’m very proud of Jennifer’s hard work and creativity!”  [press release]  [web release]